Bad posture? There’s an app for that

It’s no surprise that there are benefits to good posture. It’s good for your back and neck. Some studies have shown that it can help elevate mood, energy and positive thinking. And of course, it will endlessly please your mother, who has been telling you to stand up straight since you were about 11-years-old.

If your posture is less than perfect (and really, whose isn’t?), there’s an app that can take care of all that nagging for you.

For $150, the LumoBack will offer a gentle reminder whenever you start to slouch. From Lumo BodyTech in Palo Alto, the LumoBack uses a sensor that straps around your lower waist to track your posture. If you find yourself hunching over the keyboard or slumping at the dinner table, the sensor will vibrate. It’s basically a high-tech alternative to pacing around a room with a book on your head.

The sensor works by measuring pelvic tilt. When you slouch, hunch forward or exhibit otherwise less-than-optimal bearings the belt will vibrate twice, first after four seconds and again at 11 seconds.

As a bonus, it also tracks information like steps, standing time, sitting time and sleep positions. All this information is fed via Bluetooth to a free app that runs on Apple iOS gadgets such as the iPhone or iPad to track movements and patterns over time. (An Android app is on the way.) The app will also visualize your posture so you can figure out what you’re doing wrong.

If that fails, there’s always the classic manners school approach.

To read more on how posture can influence your mood, head to sfchronicle.com.